CMA CGM to 'keep up with the peak season' despite P3 decision

A senior executive at CMA CGM sought to reassure shippers Thursday following the decision last week by China’s Ministry of Commerce to squelch plans by the French container carrier to form the P3 Network, a global shipping alliance, with Maersk and MSC.
“P3 — is it going to come back? No. However, not to worry. CMA CGM is going to continue, Maersk is going to continue, MSC will continue. And today when we look at the partnerships, we are offering the same services today, under existing VSAs (vessel-sharing arrangements), and we have other VSAs with other partners,” said Todd Rives, senior vice president and chief commercial officer, North America, at CMA CGM. He made his remarks speaking at the 26th annual meeting of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition in San Francisco.
“We continue to be in the U.S. trade with a viable, dynamic product,” he said. “Let’s be mindful when we talk about P3 for the transpacific trades; those services, for the most part, today are already in operation,” he said, noting that all three carriers are cooperating in the Asia-U.S. trade.
He said that while under the P3, there were some nuances to the cooperation the three carriers would have had that would have enabled CMA CGM to offer coverage in certain areas to customers, but that “all our existing services will remain fully intact and we will be able to keep up with the peak season flows.”
He also said that the fact that the P3 will not move forward will have no impact on CMA CGM's 2014 results, saying that the financial investment in the project was minimal.